Second Thoughts

Month 10 Day 25

1812 Hours

MacGregor

Drake stared regretfully at the last 2 bites of his pumpkin pie and decided he could not finish it. The cooks outdid themselves. “I won’t need to eat for a week,” he stated.

“Yes,” Smitty agreed, and pushed the remnants of his pie away too. He did reach, however, for his glass of eggnog.

“That stuff’s pretty potent,” Jane commented, probably trying to hint that the engineer should slow down on his intake of the stuff. “The kick is hidden by the other flavors, but I’ve only had one glass, and I already feel tipsy.”

Smitty sighed and regretfully set his glass down. “You’re right, of course. I just thought it would be a shame to waste it.”

Jane relented. “Well, take it to your quarters,” she suggested.

That brought a big grin to Smitty’s face. “I believe I will. That certainly won’t be a hardship.”

“No.” Jane smirked. “I didn’t think it would be.” She paused for half a heartbeat before adding, “And it looked like you needed it, after that kiss from MacDowell.” Smitty’s face fell abruptly, and just as abruptly tried to look blank. He reached for his glass again, but stopped. Jane went on ruthlessly. “She’s got guts,” she stated. “Blasted if I’d be inclined to kiss a superior who had just bawled me out and confined me to my room. Mistletoe or not.”

What is she up to? If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was trying to play matchmaker. And come to think of it, this isn’t the first time I’ve had that thought. About this particular pair of people. “If it had been me in Smitty’s place,” Drake stated, “I would have grabbed hold and given her a proper kiss.”

Smitty gave him a calculating stare. “I’ve no doubt you would,” he bit out. “And already have.”

Drake gave him a startled look. Is he jealous? Maybe Jane has reason to try to push them together.

“This has been a pleasant encounter,” Takor stated. “The food was most succulent. Please explain the next step of this activity.”

“For me, this is usually the end of this particular human tradition,” Jane explained. “Some of the crew may extend the merriment by hosting or attending a party. Unfortunately, I find this is about all the Christmas merriment I can stand, for the food brings to mind the holidays of my childhood, and that makes me... sad that I haven’t done a better job of staying in touch with my family. So I generally call it a night and retire to my quarters right about now.”

“I had heard that this holiday - or some of the holidays incorporated into this shipboard season - are usually a time of family celebration. Therefore I wondered why humans continue the tradition when you have no family with you.”

“Well, humans learn childhood traditions with family members, but when they go out into the world, on their own, they often substitute friends for family and in the process, develop new traditions,” Drake explained. “Some people - like the captain - have an emotional response to the holidays that seems counter to the holiday spirit. It’s a normal response for those people, as long as it doesn’t drag on too long.”

“If it starts dragging, I know where sick bay is,” Jane told him, and stood up. “Gentlemen, Takor, I thank you again for your gifts. They are appreciated. I hope you all enjoy my gifts to you. Now let’s get this table cleaned off, and then I’ll take my leave of you. Before my mood spreads to any of you.”

They all stood and began to gather together dirty dishes and utensils, trying to keep their presents from winding up on a tray and then in the kitchen. Since Drake still had Mac’s gift - still dressed in wrapping paper - in among his unwrapped goodies, and which he was trying to keep the others from noticing, he took a bit longer to make sure it was tucked away and unnoticeable. He felt a hand on his shoulder and quickly glanced overhead. Nope, no mistletoe this time. The hand belonged to Yellow Dog, who began helping him stack his plates on his tray. “You brought us food to begin with. You don’t need to clean up after us, too,” he stated, and glimpsed her raising her hand, felt her touch in his hair. “What was that?” he asked, completely confused.

She leaned forward and kissed him, her hands on his shoulders. After his initial surprise, he pulled her closer, wanting to prolong the activity he had thought about so often over the past 10 months. When he finally let go, her arms were around his neck, and he saw a flame of passion in her dark eyes. “Now, that I could get used to,” he drawled quietly, surprised at how husky his voice was.

She gave him a satisfied smile, plucked a bit of mistletoe from his hair, and left. What do I make of that? Is she interested? Teasing? What?

The others returned from disposing of their dirty dishes and began to collect their gifts from the table. “Did you see that?” Jane quietly asked Smitty. “I could hardly have been surprised if you had reacted similarly, Smitty. With MacDowell.”

Smitty gave her an indignant look. “If she wore a different color uniform-!”

Jane broke in. “I didn’t see any uniform.” She shook her head. “Too late now, of course. Don’t forget the eggnog, Smitty. At least you don’t have to get up in the morning, since you’re off duty tomorrow.” She turned to go, sighed and turned back. “You should be careful what you wish for, Smitty. The new uniforms start with the new year, and as usual, the change will start with the higher officers. So get yourselves appointments with the ship’s tailor at your very first opportunity. Good night.” And this time, she did walk off.

What is it about new uniforms that Smitty should have been careful wishing for?